Central's Secrets
by trinity1504
Summary: Faye gets a letter from her sister Sheska asking her to return to Central due to the death of Hughes. She is thrown into a world of alchemy, murder and homunculi. Will she aid in the battle against Father or succumb to feelings for the enemy? EnvyXOC
1. Chapter 1

**My first Fanfic ever...so I'm pretty nervous! Please review whether it be good comments (hopefully Please!) or constructive criticism (hopefully not). Hope you like the 1st chapter of the story. :)**

**In case you are wondering (because I don't touch on this in the first chapter Faye does not look like her sister. They share the color green eyes but she has long dirty blonde hair and is a bit paler and more feminine.)**

**Btw I know...and don't kill me...but Envy isn't in the chapter because this is just the beginning. I need to give some background and form a plot so that it'll be how I pictured it later on. (which hopefully will be to people's liking)**

"L-Lt. Colonel Hughes died two and a half weeks ago." Sheska's voice trembled as she began her tale. I put on reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, showing her she had my attention and support. Then as she opened her mouth to continue, she burst into tears…Again. I mentally groaned, but only gave Sheska an encouraging smile.

After another five minutes of holding Sheska in my arms as she pulled herself together, I was beginning to wonder if I should have just stayed where I was and gone to Xing. _I could be doing valuable research right now on the links between alchemy and alchehistory_ I thought, before mentally slapping myself. My sister needed me right now and even if what she was about to say was some delusional fairytale I still needed to be there.

(FLASHBACK)

"Hey Faye you got a letter!", Mr. Zhu's voice breaking into my spacing out.

"Oh ok. Thanks." I mumbled as I propped myself up better on my desk. The mounds of books on my desk tittering as I shifted my weight. A letter plopped down in front of me and I heard the familiar sound of Mr. Zhu's feet scuttling out of sight. I could tell just from the clean, neat handwriting it was from my younger sister Sheska. My interest piqued, I started opening the letter. She hadn't written me since she got rehired by the government. I smiled remembering her last letter and all that it had contained: the Elric brothers, the philosopher's stone, her getting her job back, and mainly Lt. Colonel Hughes. She had sounded really attached to him despite the remarks she made about his obsession with his child and him working her like a dog. Chuckling to myself I pulled the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it

My heart seemed to be sounding in my ears and my breathe seemed caught in my throat. The letter I had just finished still lay in my trembling hands. I jerked from my seat and ran into the next room where Mr. Zhu sat with his own pile of research.

"I'm going back to Central. I don't know when I'll be back. I'm sorry." My words slurring as the came out of my mouth at rapid speed. Mr. Zhu simply looked at my face and nodded. I went back to my hotel and packed a suitcase. Before I knew it I was on the train to Central. One thing just kept replaying itself in my mind. The last line of Sheska's letter

_Lt. Colonel Hughes was murdered. I need you._

(END OF FLASHBACK)

"O-Oh-kay. I think I'm ready now. I'm d-done crying." Sheska looked back up at me as a final tear slide down her cheek.

"I'm here." I spoke gently as I repositioned myself so that we faced each other.

"Okay. Lt. Colonel Hughes died two and a half weeks ago," she began again. "He was murdered, and by order of the higher-ups no one was supposed to look into it." I nodded. She had said as much in her letter.

"B-But I did. And a few others. I had to know, to bring justice to Mr. Hughes!" Her voice sounding as if it was pleading with me to understand. I nodded and she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "It is horrible."

I moved closer to her in order to hear better. Worry started to bubble inside of me. This wasn't good, not at all. I braced myself for her next words.

Her voice dropped even lower until it was almost inaudible, almost. "It was a homunculus."

I froze.

A couple seconds passed and she looked at me, inspecting my reaction. Oh my god…this can't be right. Maybe I heard her wrong. _You didn't hear her wrong _my own self hissed back. How did Sheska even know about them. They..those things..were part of the darkest alchemy.

The incredulous, frightened look on my face must have been obvious because Sheska sighed and she looked at me with an authoritative look. She gripped my shoulders with both hands and gently shook me until my eyes met hers.

"Listen to me. I'll start at the beginning, from when I met the Elrics."

**Review please! THanks! If people let me know they like it then I will be siked and write more chapters really quick.**


	2. Chapter 2

Hey I totally redid this chapter because I wasn't satisfied with it so let me know what you think of the new chapter.

Hope you enjoy!

Oh and Faye is obviously owned by me, but none of the other characters are...sadly.

My eye twitched slightly as my gaze swept over Sheska's apartment…if you could even call it that. If any normal person, who didn't know my sister, had walked in they would have thought my sister was either: 1. a hoarder or 2. used this space as a storage area to keep an enormous amount of books. But I knew my sister, and neither of the latter options were true.

"You live in this!" my voice rising in spite of my trying to keep it even.

Skeska stepped next to me so that we were both in the door frame. She just gave me a pathetic smile, her face turning a deep shade of crimson.

"Hehe….well you see…" she paused grasping for words. "I like books."

I face palmed. "No shit Sheska!"

Once I had recovered I began again, struggling to say my next words in a delicate and patient sisterly way. Unfortunately I never have been one for patience or delicacy.

"You cannot live in this mess. It's sick! The books need to go. I mean come on Sheska! You need to clear this place out. NOW!" I took in a deep breathe once my rant was complete. That had not been as delicate as I had hoped, but I guess she did need to hear it. Next to me Sheska had started to tremble. Oh god no! _Don't cry, don't cry, don- _my metal pleadings were interrupted as I heard Sheska give a slight crying noise. _Shit! You are the worst sister ever!_ I scolded myself. I turned toward my little sister, who was only two years younger than me. Right now, she seemed to be far younger, and I, the seventeen year old, far older. I braced myself for a long apology.

I got back to my hotel room two and a half hours later. Closing the door behind me I collapsed onto the uneven hotel mattress. It had been one week since I had arrived at Central, and I developed a deep loathing for the city since. What the hell kind of world was this? A corrupt government, covered up murders, immortal non-human human things, and shape-shifters. Okay well maybe the first two weren't so uncommon but I'm sure Central had every other country beat in those categories. How could Sheska even get involved in this?...I guess I already knew the factual answer to that, but I was thinking more in a wordly-universe perspective.

(Next day)

I had been tagging along with Sheska while she was doing some of her daily duties around military headquarters, when she had spotted Ed and Al returning. After that things pretty much happened as I had been expecting. Ed had told me his life story (the very, very brief version) and then him and Al ran off.

_I really liked Ed and Al. Sheska had given me a heads up on Ed's height complex so I steered clear of that. But in fact he wasn't THAT short, I mean a little shrimpy especially when compared with his brother but not that bad. _I mused to myself.

"I feel really bad. I owe them so much. I should have told them." I looked up at Sheska as she said this.

"What are you talking about lil sis?" I asked and I playfully ruffled her hair.

She just gazed at me sadly, looking kind of like a mouse who had been told the moon wasn't made out of cheese.

"They don't know the Lt. Colonel is dead." My head whipped toward the disappearing figures of the blonde-haired boy and the large suit of armor.

"Oh man." I felt very bad for those boys at this moment.

It took me a couple moments but I finally snapped out of the pity party I was having for the boys. I stepped over to Sheska and grabbed her elbow. She was visibly startled, which took away the look of grief and anxiety she had previously worn.

"Come on I'm hungry. And I need you in order to get access to the cafeteria's lame food." I said in a convincingly cheerful voice.

" Yeah. Ok. First we have to go check on the Colonel. Well at least I do since you refuse to meet him." Sheska said. _For good reason_ I silently retorted. She began pulling me toward the room she had left Roy Mustang in. He had asked to see some documents in a storage room, I'm guessing to uncover what happened to Maes Hughes. As much as I loathed Roy Mustang, I still felt some pity for him. He looked really haggard, when I had spotted him talking to Sheska. Though I had kept my distance I could still see the bags under his eyes, the stubble on his chin, and his sad eyes.

Once we were just about to round the corner leading to the hall where the room Roy was in was, I stopped and leaned against the wall. "I'll say here until he's gone." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't understand what you have against him. You've never even met the guy." Sheska shook her head exasperatedly. I sighed. She could never know the truth, that I had met Roy years ago and why had I hated him so much, so I settled for just staring at the ceiling and ignoring her comment. "Fine. I'll be back in a little bit." She said quietly, as she turned the corner and was out of sight. I closed my eyes and listened to her footsteps as she walked down the hall. The faint opening of a door sounded. I opened my eyes. A few moments later I heard Sheska in the room talking to someone. Maybe it was Mustang. My hands curled up into tight fists as anger surged through my body.

"That bastard." I muttered to the empty corridor around me. I peeked around the corner to see what was going on. A lady walked out of the room where I knew Sheska and Roy were. She waved to the room she had just exited, as I heard Sheska's unmistakable voice. "Yes Ma'am." My eyes narrowed at the woman now heading down the hall in the opposite direction of me.

"Excuse me, miss. What are you doing?"

"Ah!" I screeched as I jumped back to see a large dark-skinned man wearing a military uniform and glasses. He stared at me suspiciously.

"What the hell! You scared me." I glared at the man, who frowned and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"That's no way to speak to a superior officer." His voice was filled with annoying authority. I smirked.

"Yeah? Well I guess it's a good thing you're not my superior." I said smugly.

"Are you an alchemist or something?" He asked, dropping the false politeness he had been using.

I gestured to my tank top and jeans. "Do I look like one Sarge?" My voice dripping with venom. Something about this guy was wrong. I did not like him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my visitor's card, for proof.

"Well miss, I'm sorry to have startled you and made presumptuous accusations." The man looked directly into my eyes and spoke in a cheery, gentlemanly voice, which I knew immediately was false. I didn't answer, but simply stared at him defiantly. "Well I should be going. Nice to meet you miss…I didn't catch your name." the man stared at me with a weird look in his eyes. This guy was really starting to creep me out.

"That's because I didn't give it to you." I semi-growled at the man. There was something really off about this guy.

He smirked at my words. His smirk looked really out of place on his serious features. Then he just turned and walked around the corner I had previously been peering around.

"Was that Colonel Roy Mustang that just left?" I heard the same man ask my sister, down the hall. Sheska gave a startled screech.

"C-Captain Focker sir! Good morning! Haha…Nice day today." Sheska voice was panicky. She gave a nervous giggle.

"Yes it is. What was he doing in here?" Captain Focker's deep voice asked seriously. "The store room door is open," he continued.

"I'm sorry sir! I opened it!" Sheska bowed her head.

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone. I'm sure the Colonel practically forced you…What was he looking in to?" Sheska face dropped at Focker's question.

"No Sheska! Don't say anything to that guy. I don't trust him." I hissed to myself.

"Well sir, I'm not one hundred percent sure of all the details, but he was looking at some stuff about the fifth laboratory and…I think the Hughes case." Sheska said sadly.

"Hmm.." the man commented. Damn I don't trust him. How could Sheska be so dense! For all we know this guy could be in on Hughes's death. I shook my head in frustration but kept my eyes glued to the two.

"Well I've got tons of work to do. Good day Sheska." Focker then kept walking along the corridor, and Sheska sprinted back into the room. I stepped around the corner and silently crept down the long hall. Then I stopped dead in my tracks and I felt my jaw fall open. Captain Focker was still walking down the hall, apparently lost in thought, but that wasn't what shocked me. A second Captain Focker had just turned into the hallway. They were exactly identical except the new one was carrying a book. Then the first Focker looked up and noticed the other. I expected some gasp of surprise at the least and a blood-curdling scream at the most. Instead a bright white light engulfed his entire body and once the light was gone an entirely new military officer I had never seen was standing in his place. Holy shit! What the hell just happened! I wildly glanced at the second Captain Focker. He was still reading the book in his hands and had been completely oblivious to the shocking scene. The man who had formerly been Captain Focker was now in a completely new form and continued to walk casually down the hallway and out of sight.

The second Focker didn't notice me as he walked into the room Sheska was in. I tiptoed until I was right outside the room the second Focker, who I assume is the real one , had just walked into.

"Why good morning Sheska!" the real Focker said.

Sheska whirled around and looked very confused. "What?" she squeaked, confusion written all over her face.

"G-Good morning Captain." Sheska said slowly.

"What's wrong?" the familiar, deep voice asked.

"N-Nothing. I should be going. Goodbye sir." Sheska shot him another confused look and nervously waved. Then she sprinted out of the room.

A body collided with mine.

"Oof! Sheska watch where you are going." I muttered, picking myself off the ground. Once I was up Sheska remained silent but lead me to the cafeteria.

"You would not believe what a weird thing I just experienced back there." Sheska spoke after we were a good distance away.

"Ha yeah. You have no idea sis." I mumbled as I shook my head. Sheska gave me a questioning look, but I just looked away. I don't want to tell Sheska until I've figured some of this out for myself

When we came to the cafeteria, I quickly jumped in line. Sheska, who claimed she had lost her appetite, went to find a somewhat empty table since the place was packed with bodies wearing military clothes. I glanced at my clothes, realizing for the first time just how much I stuck out. My faded jeans had so many holes in them, any normal person would have thrown them away by now. I had a black t-shirt on that ended when my belly button was at, showing off a bit of my pale stomach and the diamond stud that was in my belly button. At least I was wearing black military like boots that I had borrowed from Sheska. It was so convenient now that she was done growing and we could share clothes! I was glad I didn't match the military officers though. I was too lost in my thoughts to realize the line had moved and I was seriously behind, that is until I was tapped rather harshly on the shoulder. I jumped a bit and turned toward the body that said hand belonged to.

"Hey are you alright?" a friendly female stood behind me.

"Uh what? Oh yeah sorry!" I quickly caught up in line then turned back toward the woman. She had short dark hair, friendly purple eyes and a small mole under one of her eyes. I wasn't quite sure if it was under her left or right eye. (I wasn't really good with right and left and had to hold out my hands to identify which was which and I didn't want to knowingly make myself look like an idiot so I refrained and figured it didn't matter at the moment) My momentary pause went unnoticed. She seemed so kind. It was obvious she hadn't meant to be harsh in her tap.

"I'm Maria Ross. You must be new around here." She said the last part like a statement but it was obvious she was curious and it was a question.

"My name is Faye Blacke. And I'm actually just in town visiting. My little sister Sheska works here so I've just been tagging along while I'm in town." I explained to the woman.

"Really? That sounds nice. I'm pleasantly surprised that the military allowed you to just come to work with her." Maria's kind voice held confusion and suspicion.

"Ohh really." I laughed awkwardly, trying to fill the silence.

Maria's face suddenly lit up. "Wait a minute isn't your sister acquaintances with the Elric brothers?"

"Yes.." I said suspiciously. What was she getting at? One moment this woman's confused and now she's got me confused!

"Can I eat lunch with you?" Her question totally caught me off guard.

I quickly wiped the shocked expression from my face and spluttered out a yes.

After getting our meals, I located my sister and lead Maria to sit with us.

To my great surprise, Sheska waved at Maria as we walked over. Upon sitting down I was confused even further.

"You remember me right? I was body-guarding the Elrics when they asked for your assistance with Dr. Marco's books." Ross said to Sheska.

Sheska nodded and they caught up while I ate my cold soup. I glared at the shitty soup for a while before caving in to my hunger and finishing every last bite. When I was done I started listening to Maria and Sheska's conversation. Man I feel so out of the loop. Since when does my sister now so much more than me? Wait….aw damn she's always known more than me. I guess that's just a given if someone's a bookworm.

"Wait a minute. If you two are sisters why do have different last names?" Maria asked.

_Wow. Where to begin? _I thought sarcastically.

Sheska glanced at me then answered Maria. "Well my sister never really told me. All she said was she no longer wanted to be associated with our family's last name." Sheska said.

"Oh. Why not?" Maria looked at me.

"It's a really long story. Let's just say for now that it brings up unwanted memories of the past, and people from my past that I have no desire to see." I said as I looked back at Maria.

"You are still only a child, though. So then your name was Faye Kelley, before you changed it." Maria was now smiling sad at me.

"I'm no child." I answered coldly. "I have seen more bloodshed and merciless deeds than you ever have." I hissed. I tried to quell the emotions starting to bubble inside of me.

I heard a sharp intake of breath next to me. "Faye what are you talking about?" Sheska asked. I looked at my sister. I had never told her any of my history before our father died. She was so young then, and she had been shielded from everything. Maria looked between the two of us.

"Sheska, I never told you about my past before father died. And I never plan on telling you. It is a burden I must bear. Please don't ask me about it." It was all I could do to keep my voice steady and my eyes dry. Sheska just sat there looking at me quietly.

"I'm so sorry. I never would have brought this up if I knew it would cause you so much pain." Maria said. I looked at her and saw her looking sad and distressed.

"No, no. It's fine. Just some old memories I don't like to remember." I smiled at her.

"Hey Ross!" a blonde man called as he rushed over to our table.

"Oh hey Brosh." Maria greeted the happy new comer.

"Oh how's it going bookworm?" the Brosh man said. What? Who was he talking about?

"Oh hi Sergeant Brosh." Sheska said politely, blushing from embarrassment.

"What did you call my sister?" I growled. I looked murderously at the man who was now looking a little nervous.

"Faye it's fine. It's just a little nickname." Sheska quickly said seeing my rising anger.

"Oh yeah. I think it's amazing all the books she reads and her memory too. I mean like that's awesome." Brosh said sincerely. I exhaled. He seemed like a good guy.

"Oh Faye this is Sergeant Denny Brosh. Brosh this is Sheska's older sister Faye Kelley. Oh sorry I mean Faye Blacke." Maria quickly corrected her mistake and glanced and me to gage my reaction. I smiled at her nervousness. I really needed to work on not overreacting to the last name question.

"Haha yeah. Whichever is fine. It's nice to meet you."

"Excuse me did one of you say Faye Kelley?" A blonde woman came up behind Brosh. She had brown eyes and blonde hair pulled back. Oh no…Hawkeye. I quickly covered my face with my hand.

"Yeah. Right over here." I heard Maria say.

I moved my hand to see Sheska, Maria, and Brosh staring at me questioningly. Riza Hawkeye's jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

A whirlwind of emotions flooded through me. Anger. Guilt. Pain. Sadness. Embarrassment.

I met her eyes with a cold gaze. My face was heating up.

Riza regained her composure. "It's been a long time," she said quietly looking embarrassed herself.

"Wait you know each other." Maria said looking incredulous.

"I could say we were old war buddies. But I don't think buddies would be the right word." My voice was as cold as ice.

"Sheska and I have to go. Excuse us. It was a pleasure meeting you Maria and Sergeant Brosh." I then looked pointedly at Riza and said nothing. I grabbed Sheska's arm and dragged her away and she spluttered out apologies and good-byes.

"I'm guessing even if I ask you aren't going to tell me anything." Sheska asked agitatedly.

"Ah. Perceptive as always little sis." I smiled unconvincingly.

She dropped the topic and we continued walking, talking only about trivial things such as weather.

A few hours passed and then Sheska and I heard something that stunned us both.

"Did you hear Second Lt. Maria Ross was named the murderer in the Hughes case?" random guy says as we walk by.

I dropped the books I had been carrying for Sheska as my mouth dropped right behind the books. No…that's not right. Sheska had said the homunculus did it.

"Yeah I heard that too. Someone way high up in the military found it out." Other random guy says.

I glanced over at Sheska and saw she was shaking her head back and forth, a look of anxiety on her face.

My mind just couldn't wrap around what they had just said. It didn't make sense. It didn't fit into place. The homunculus killed Hughes. The higher ups and covered it up. Maria Ross was friends with the Elrics. She was a nice, good person. No, no, no! This was wrong. Unless..the military..that had to be it! The higher-ups had covered it up! Sheska had said she wasn't the only one looking into Hughes death, but maybe she had been the most discreet. The homunculi had found someone getting too close and they had needed an answer to give the snooper. Poor Maria! They were tying up all the loose end. All the loose ends…oh no!

All these thoughts whizzed through my brain in a matter of seconds. I looked over at Sheska who was still shaking her but not as fervently as before. I grabbed Sheska and ran, towing her behind me, until we got a cab. I shouted the Sheska's address at the cab drive even though Sheska and I were already in the car and only a foot or two away from the driver. Scenarios were playing themselves out in my mind so quickly I couldn't fully wrap my mind around them. Sheska finally found her voice and asked why we were going to her house. Just as she finished the question we arrived at the very place and threw a wad of cash at the driver.

"Keep the change." I called back as I ran to the door, still pulling my sister.

I shoved the door open and was pleased to see that a few of the books had been cleared so there was at least some narrow pass-ways to get to the other rooms. My pleasure faded almost instantly as I remembered why we were here.

"Sheska go upstairs and pack your suitcase. Pack clothes for at least three days and a lot of money. Go now and hurry! And I'll explain it when you get back down." I commanded here. She gave me a questioning look but did as I had ordered. Nerves racked my body and I was totally on edge right now. I glanced behind me out Sheska's door. The sun had started to dip down in the sky. The sky was flushed with deep oranges, reds, and purples. The most dominant colors in the sky was a deep crimson that sent shivers down my spine.

In only a few minutes Sheska was by my side again. She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. I knew her too well.

"No you cannot bring ANY books. Not one." I answered her unasked question. She smiled feebly, trying to hide her apparent disappointment.

"Sheska, I-" I began but it was her turn to cut me off.

"Faye, I understand. I'm figured it out a little bit before you. I always was a bit quicker." She smiled a bit as I opened my mouth to deny this fact, but she continued.

"Please promise me you'll follow soon after. I don't want you to get hurt either. Promise me." Her usually soft voice became steely. I smiled. She had never wanted me to do something so badly that she ordered me to do it. I pulled her into a tight hug.

Only an hour later I watched as her train pulled away. That train would bring my sister to the edge of Amestris, where she would join my boss as he returned to Xing. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I watched the train that was now out of sight. The one thing my sister had ever really asked of me, the one thing she had ever been bold enough to order me to do replayed itself in my mind. My tears spilled down my face. I would never be able to do the one thing she had ever truly asked of me.

"Forgive me Sheska."


	3. Note

On hiatus! It's been forever since I updated this. I even have the next three chapters written out. I just need to type them, but I'm not sure what I want to do with this story after that. So until I decide that I will not upload and will take a break from this story.

Okay! Just ignore the crossed out stuff. I'm back on this story again. Think of it on a semi-hiatus-thingy…yeah. I say this because I don't know how regularly I'll be updating this. I'll try to as often as I can though. (Reviews help things go faster*hint*wink) I'm still not a hundred present sure what the next few developments in this story will be. I've got some concrete ideas and some ones I'm still contemplating. I'll just sort of deal with things when I type them up. Please read and review though! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay. So here's the third chapter. I'm not sure how regular updates will be, but I'll try and write the next chapter as soon as I can. As always I would LOVE some positive reviews! They make me write faster! The reason this chapter is up so quick even though I put it on hiatus was because I felt guilty and really amused when I read a few of the reviews…EvnyLover's post really made me sit down and write this out. So please review and let me know what you think. And please let me know if you have any certain ideas for what you want to happen. I will definitely take them into consideration! **

Chapter 3

"_Well obviously, the guy with the mustache that looked like some dead rodent is lying about not knowing the victim." I said confidently. Mustang, my father, and some other military officer looked at me. My father looked bewildered, and then his expression changed to that of anger. "I told you to stay put in the car while I reported to the crime scene." He looked like he was about ready to burst he was so angry. "I was thinking the same thing, but tell me. Why do you think that?" The young, handsome man next to my father spoke. I looked up at the man named Mustang. I recognized him from some pictures and stuff that dad had in his office. I occasionally snuck in there when he was out. I am going to be the world's greatest military detective after all!_

_I liked this Mustang. He wore an amused look, and wasn't trying to shoo me away. I smiled. "Well his expression was one of shock, but his eyes didn't have any emotion. They were cold. Also, his movements seemed forced like he had to put up an act. And he just gave me the willies." I stated seriously. "The willies?" Mustang raised a single dark eyebrow. Maybe he didn't understand the expression…"Yes. The willies." I nodded once as I said this. "She's got some good instincts and observational skills, Randy." Mustang looked at my dad, who took a break from glaring at me to respond. "Yes she does. But she lacks some others qualities," he turned to me again. "Like a sense of self-preservation, good decision-making, and a filter on what she says." Yes…this was true. "There's more to it than just figuring out who did it." Dad grumbled angrily. He is obviously mad because I noticed something he didn't. "She's pretty sharp though," Mustang stated. I smiled at him, then gave my dad a smug smirk. "But this really isn't the place for little girls." Mustang finished. I whipped my head toward Mustang, a frown in place of my smile. "I'm not a little girl. I'm-" I thought better of saying my age because that is always what little kids say. "I may be young but I'm much more mature than my age." I looked intensely at Mustang. I wanted to be on the case. I was aware I was far beyond the other kids my age, and my sister would probably be sharp like me too. Mustang was my only hope to get involved. I wanted to show my dad and everyone that I could be a great detective! "I'll tell you what. Go home tonight, and I promise your dad will bring you all the information on the case. If you can impress me with your analysis I'll let you in on a few more cases." Roy had bent down, so he said this to me at eye-level. My eyes widened. His offer was a good one. I extended my small pudgy hand and grasped his large, calloused one. "Deal Horse Boy." _

My eyes flew open, and drew in a sharp gasp. I looked around my room, as the images from my dream faded away and were replaced by the familiar, dark hotel room. I forced myself to breath. I could feel the sweat all over my body and the blonde hair plastered on my face. It was only in my dreams. I tugged the sheet off my hyperventilating body, then combed back some of the hair stuck to my face with my hands. Slowly my breathing went back to normal. "Dammit!" I punched the mattress. Mustang was fucking everywhere! He was with Sheska earlier, and now he was appearing in my dreams..well memories to be exact…damn Horse Bastard!

I looked over at the clock. 3:45 am. Which meant Sheska was far from Central at the moment. I heaved a sigh of relief and shakily pushed myself to the edge of the bed, where I stood up. "Tomorrow I'll move into Sheska's place…" I talked absentmindedly to myself. I made my way to the window and leaned on the sill. I wanted to solve this. I had to protect Sheska, and that Maria I had met yesterday. There is no way she is the one who killed Hughes. She just didn't strike me as the person, and my gut had never been wrong. I needed to solve this case. I was involved now, and though I had long ago given up on my childhood dream of being a detective, I felt the thrill of it all going through me now. Crime, mysteries, and murders plus me was similar to a lightbulb and moth. I couldn't just run away now. Homunculi, murders, cover-ups, alchemy, and opposing the government. I smirked humorlessly. It was like someone was practically baiting me into snooping.

Stepping out of the bathroom, with a towel around me, I practically ran to my suitcase. I quickly threw on the white bra I wore yesterday, a new pair of black underwear (matching undergarments is overrated, but I won't deny I feel really hot when they match, for some strange reason), red corduroy pants, and white t-shirt. Unfortunately these were my last clean clothes…so I would be re-wearing some stuff. Washing them in the sink would be too much work. I threw my long blonde hair in a messy bun, not really wanting to deal with a brush. All morning I had been running through possible scenarios for today and how I would react and use anything I could to my advantage. More than anything though, I worried about Sheska. She was smarter than anyone I knew when it came to academics and analyzing, but in street-smarts, even with my rash decision making and thoughtless actions, I was still smarter than her. This concerned me greatly. I had sent Sheska with a letter for Zhu. It asked for a reply telling me Sheska got there safely. The reason I wanted Zhu to send it to me was because he would put it in code, like he does everything. And I really had no idea if the government was checking on people's mail. In fact, I had spent all morning since I had woken up trying to connect some of the dotes in this case. I trusted Sheska that a homunculus had killed Hughes. She was not rash like me so she must have done a lot of work to reach that conclusion and have confidence in it. And it was obvious the government covered it up. So…were they simply covering things up so as not to start a panic or were the homunculi somehow working with the government? But if they were trying not to start a panic then why bring publicity to the case again by falsely accusing Maria? Was there one homunculus or more? And were they just normal people that couldn't die and were created with alchemy? "Ugh!" I ran hand through my and grunted in annoyance. All I knew for sure after pondering this all night was that: the government was collaborating with homunculi for some reason I had to find out, Maria was being framed for a homunculus's crime, and Mustang and co. were most likely looking into this along with the Elrics. I was still trying to wrap my head around the seeing double of someone yesterday, and what that meant in the case. I wasn't an alchemist, but I was pretty sure that was NOT alchemy.

As I ran through the lobby, I got a few strange looks so I stopped in front of a particularly reflective window. Grimacing, I dropped my suitcase. I knew I looked far from splendid, but I needed to fix my appearance a bit. The bun looked like some animal's nest, dark circles were present under my eyes, and Sheska's boots were untied on my feet. Once I fixed my appearance, I grabbed my suitcase and got a cab to Sheska's. Being semi-presentable was necessary. I wasn't sure if going incognito was the best option for gaining info, but until a situation arose where needed to call attention to myself (or I lost my temper) then I needed to look normal. Sadly nothing could be done about the bags under my eyes. When the cab driver gave me a weird look, I growled and that effectively made the ride awkwardly silent. The driver did not look happy when I told him I would need a ride to military headquarters after I dropped my stuff at Sheska's, but in the end his greed outweighed his dislike for me.

When I got out of the cab at Central's headquarters, I thought suddenly hit me. I have absolutely no clue how to get around this place. I had pretty much followed Sheska around like a puppy, only paying attention to people's faces. Usually I judged people on how they dressed and their faces, but seeing as everyone here dressed the same, I was forced to watch faces. I was trying to not think about the weird guy and his carbon-copy at the moment since it was pretty much a dead end until I found more clues pertaining to that. I knew no one's name except for the guy who had two of him…I would like to see him again, but I didn't know how to explain Sheska's absence. I still needed to think of an alibi; something better than she is sick. That was a beyond pathetic excuse. I knew the Furher's name, but he gives me the willies and I don't think he's aware that I exist. I would rather stab my eye than go to Riza Hawkeye. And even worse than her is that Horse Bastard! I would rather rot in the fiery pits of hell than go to that man for directions! I glared at the pavement in front of me. Even the mention of him pissed me off profusely.

So I decided to walk in and go with the flow. I

An hour later I found myself into the Library. I stared hard at the carpet trying to think of where I was. I couldn't even remember how I got here. Ugh! I am directionally challenged beyond belief! I had just kept going down hallway after hallway until I reached the big oak doors that led in here. And of course seeing such a grande entrance, I knew I should venture inside. I was beyond bored. All the people I had talked to had not progressed my investigation in the slightest. Well I guess I knew that none of the lower officers (the majority), were involved with the homunculi since none had shown any suspicious reactions to my subtle hints about homunculi and cover-ups.

"Umm excuse me miss. Are you ok?" a child's voice asked.

"Huh?" I realized I was glaring at the floor and my hands were clenched so hard my knuckles were white.

I turned to see a cute boy looking up at me with a concerned expression. "Oh, um, yeah. I was just…thinking." The boy just nodded his head and stared and me with big purple eyes. He was really adorable. "I'm Faye Black. What's your name?" My voice went into that high pitch that only comes out when I talk to animals or cute children. "I'm Selim." He said. When he grasped my extended hand, I pulled my hand back to body and cradled it like I had been burned. I don't know why I did this, but when he touched me I just felt unbelievably vulnerable. His eyes narrowed and looked almost evil, but when I blinked he was merely looking at my curiously with an angelic face. Shit. Maybe my lack of sleep was getting to me. I had been so worked up after that dream and then I couldn't sleep with so many thoughts racing through my head. I need to be investigating, not introducing myself to little kids. I dropped my hands to my side and bent down in front of Selim.

"Do you know where Maria Ross's office is?" I asked the Selim. "I'm sorry I don't know who that is." Oh. Of course not. He's a little boy. "It's ok. I have to go. It was nice to meet you Selim. You are very cute." I called back to him as I ran blindly out of the library.

"Wha-What do you mean she's dead?" I choked out. My throat felt dry and I couldn't even swallow. "She was arrested last night, and then tried escaping. Luckily she was caught. Though, she was killed when she resisted arrest." A man in military clothes said. What? No! I was going to tell her I knew she was innocent, that I would help her. She couldn't be dead. An image of her friendly face popped into my head. "No. Dammit!" My voice cracked. My fist connected with the wall next to me. What the hell did the government do? They killed another innocent person? Why were they doing this? "She was innocent!" I screamed at the man who now looked really scared. I leaned my back against the wall and slid down it until was sitting. I rested my forehead against my knees and wrapped my arms around my head, blocking out my surroundings. I needed to get a hold of myself. I can't just lose my temper. Maybe she was still alive, but injured somewhere. Yes, there was still hope. I could find the person who shot her and see if there is any hope. Then I will continue investigating. I know about Hughes's death, but I can still find out more about Homunculi. I'm getting out of this place though. I'll investigate on my own. I never want to come back to this godforsaken pla- "Excuse me." I looked up to see the scared man from before was back and he was with another guy I had never seen before. I rose to my feet and leaned against the wall, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I stared at the new man. I was officially **done** with all the military bullshit. "Who are you? You obviously aren't military personnel." He spoke slowly. What the fuck? "I have a visitor's card." I answered coldly though I didn't make any move to get it from my pocket. "Okay then. Well how about you let me see it. Then we can get you a cup of coffee and talk about this." He said gently. Talk about what? His tone is really pissing me off. "Stop talking to me like I'm a fucking toddler. And I hate coffee. It stains your teeth, and tastes like shit." I said apathetically. The man who was scared blanched. The other guy looked slightly pissed. "And I don't want to talk about "this". I want to know who killed Maria. Because she sure as hell didn't murder Hughes!" "I'm not telling you, a civilian, about military business." The pissed off guy snapped. "Fine Gramps!" I snapped back. I turned and started stomping down the hallway in an opposite direction. I started sprinting toward where I thought there may be an exit. "I'll figure it out on my own. Whole fucking government is corrupt…homunculi probably running the place….damn fuhrer…stupid…find out truth…myself..oof!" I looked up and gasped. "You!" I pointed a finger at the man's face. "Do I know you?" he asked clearly confused. I quickly put the pieces together. "Ohh of course not…" This has to be the non-doppelganger. He's not giving me the creepy vibes like yesterday. "Sooo…why do you have a twin walking around? Are you a twin?" I knew the answer because his twin had magically turned into a different person but still confirmation was always good. "Umm I can't say I do. I am an only child." He looked utterly confused now. I said a quick thanks and bolted to the door that said exit.

I walked casually once outside. The last thing I needed as more attention. "Faye Black..?" I'm sure my eyes were bugging out of my head at the moment. Blonde hair, serious brown eyes, and a military uniform. Just great. "Riza! What are you doing here?" I shouted. She looked really taken aback. I guess shouting was unnecessary. A blush crept onto my checks. I had definitely not meant to yell. "I'm getting something for the Colonel. And you?" She said politely, but her eyes roamed over me trying to judge what I was going to do. I looked at the chubby ginger next to her, and eyed him up and down. Yeah, if I made a break for it I could outrun him, but Hawkeye was another story. "I'm trying to crush the government, assassinate the fuhrer, and on a large scale bring Amestris to ruins." I said nonchalantly while keeping a close eye on her to gauge her reaction. As suspected she looked completely shocked and the guy next to choked on whatever was in his mouth. "Y-you shouldn't say such things… Really." Her voice was serious and she caste an almost imperceptible glance around us, looking for witnesses. A light bulb went off in my head. Of course! Horse Boy and his lackeys had been looking into this ordeal. But how deep in were they? Did they know more than me? I eyed Riza and the fellow next to her suspiciously. "No, I was kidding." They both visibly relaxed. Riza eyed me curiously. I could see the gears working in her head and trying to fit together what was going on. I really needed to leave in case that old guy I had called Gramps came looking, but I wanted to get a bit more information. It apparently was my lucky day because a group of officers, who seemed pretty high up, if I knew anything about military uniforms and badges, were somewhat close. I smirked and looked at Riza. And then in a loud voice I said, "Yes, I was just kidding. I wasn't really thinking about doing anything about this corrupted government. The place has gone to the **homunculi** anyway!" I ended up practically yelling the last bit. The other group whipped their head around to stare at me, some wore expressions other than confusion which I found very interesting. How many people were involved in this? "My God Black!" Riza hissed, looking panicked. The guy next to her looked seriously freaked out. Yup. They knew a lot. Probably more than me. No way was Horse Bastard going to be on top for long. I turned and walked away, waiting until I was out of sight before I let out the breathe I had been holding.

I really should have expected this. Honestly, I don't know why I was surprised. Sheska had barely picked up any of the books in her house. The only room that she had actually cleared of books was the bedroom and adjoining bathroom. I quickly closed the bedroom door, effectively blocking the towers of books from my sight. I hadn't really looked at Sheska's room before. The walls were cream and were void of any posters or pictures. The bed frame was wood and lilac sheets dressed it. The only other furniture in the room was a dresser and an over-stuffed striped chair. Simple and not cluttered in the least. That was a relief. I quickly changed into flannel shorts and put my long blonde hair in a braid (if I woke up with another nightmare tonight at least my hair wouldn't be plastered all over my face like last night).

A content purr slipped out as I slid under the covers and relaxed into Sheska's bed. This was way better than that lumpy mattress back at the hotel. I stretched under the covers. "Ow!" My toe hit something heavy and hard at the bottom of the bed, under the covers. Ripping the sheets off I found the rock-hard object my poor big toe had hit. I glared darkly at a heavy, leather-bound book that was inconveniently lying at the end of the bed. The book was so heavy I had to use both hands to lift it off the bed. I was about to fling it across the room when a creak sounded from the stairs. I hugged the book to my chest and froze. Everything seemed to stall as I listened closely for another sound. A part of me felt like scolding myself for reacting this way to a silly creak, but another part of me felt like something was really not right. When another peculiar sound reached my ears I acted without thinking. I grabbed the fluffy comforter at the end of the bed and pulled it up to my neck and laid my head back on the pillow, feigning sleep. When the bedroom door opened my heart stopped beating, and it took every ounce of my willpower to keep from getting up and trying to run away.

"Ugh. I can't believe I had to waste my time to come deal with trash like you, you filthy human." An annoyed voice, laced with disgust spoke in the dark room. The pounding of my heart flooded my head and echoed in my ears. Human? What? Wasn't this person also a human? Crap! My disoriented mind was working a mile a minute, but getting absolutely nowhere. A familiar sense of vulnerability and fear crept over me as I heard the person move closer to me. My heart was in over drive and the urge to flee or at least twitch was overwhelming. "Cya human." The voice said again from almost right above me. My eyes popped open on their own accord in time to see malicious purple eyes shining and a psychotic smile, but then a movement too quick for my eyes to follow happened and a tearing noise sounded in the silent bedroom; a hard pressure on my chest made me look downward. A large spike was coming from the person's bicep. I followed the strange arm-weapon toward the pressure on my chest. I couldn't see the rest of the spike though because it went through the cover and straight-I strangled choke came from me. The spike went through the covers, straight to my heart.

**Wow that actually took a really long time to write. I hope you all liked it! **

**Please review! Reviews make me happy and happy writers write quicker! **


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